1. Derrick Rose Returns With Speed In Reserve

Twice, Derrick Rose unleashed his dramatic burst on drives to the rim.

Otherwise, Rose and the Chicago Bulls coasted to a comfortable 110-95 victory over the hapless New Jersey Nets in the reigning MVP's first return to action after missing four games over nine days with a sprained left big toe that may nag him all season.

Rose went for 22 points and eight assists but did not appear to be 100 percent and only sparingly accessed the top gear that has made him one of the league's most difficult perimeter players to contain off the dribble. Instead, Rose focused his attention on hounding Nets star point guard Deron Williams around ball screens and pindowns designed to get New Jersey's only credible scoring threat open looks.

The banged-up Bulls were also without Luol Deng (wrist), Taj Gibson (ankle), and John Lucas III (groin), but Richard Hamilton and the rest of the Bulls buoyed the offense for their fourth straight win.

Hamilton scored an efficient 22 points and added 10 assists as the Bulls relied on a balanced attack, perhaps in an effort to take the stress of being the primary creator off of Rose. Chicago crisply executed a series of curl screens reminiscent of those Hamilton made famous in Detroit, and when New Jersey rotated to prevent Hamilton from shooting, he delivered to his screeners for easy looks along the baseline.

"He makes the right play," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "When he's open, he shoots. When he's guarded, he makes the right read."

A terrific matchup at the point guard position was muted by the lopsided score throughout, but Williams gave nearly as good as he got in his duel with Rose. Williams' double-double (16 points, 10 assists) was his seventh in 10 games, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep pace. It's typical for defenses to force great passers like Williams into shooting rather than spreading the ball to open players, but Chicago seemed content to watch Williams' teammates, other than Jordan Farmar (5-for-6 on 3s, 22 points) clank away from outside.

Meanwhile, Rose's teammates showed a confidence and purpose on offense that was at times lacking during the Bulls' arduous climb to the last year's Eastern Conference Finals. All five starters netted double figures, as did super-sub Omer Asik.

Rose has deferred more to his teammates this season even when healthy, and it's possible that the absence of Rose and other key contributors in the past few games has further helped Chicago's less heralded role players find their offensive groove. Indeed, Rose spent the majority of the game circling the perimeter, looking for his long-range shot and distributing to open cutters and shooters rather than bounding and bursting down the lane.

"You can see he was a little tentative," Williams said. "Usually he'll attack a little bit more. But he didn't have to."

From the tip-off, the Bulls were a stampede of effort and skill. When the dust cleared, they had assisted on 33 of their 43 field goals and obliterated the Nets on the boards. They will need to continue developing their diverse attack to overcome defenses in Miami, Philadelphia and Indiana that are well suited to barring Rose from the paint, if such a thing can be said about any team.

A look at the list of injured might suggest the Bulls are falling apart. Their comprehensive victory implies just the opposite -- that Chicago is once again building a championship-caliber team.

2. Blazers Get Healthy Against Kings

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Few things cure a team's ailments as reliably as a visit from the Sacramento Kings, and for one night at least much of what troubled the Portland Trail Blazers appeared cured.

Jamal Crawford's jumper? Finding the net again, thank you, after dropping 26 points on a small Sacramento backcourt in a 101-89 win. Secondary scorers? Present and accounted for, with Craig Smith bulling his way to 10 points in his increasing role off the bench to join five other Blazers in double figures. Defensive soundness? Portland held Sacramento to 40 percent shooting, a number that the Kings reached only with the help of some cosmetic fourth-quarter scoring.

But the biggest story was the energy provided by Gerald Wallace in a furious burst at the end of the first half, one that capped a 20-2 Blazer run in which Sacramento went nearly five minutes without scoring. It was a two-point game midway through the second quarter at the time, but the Kings never recovered.

Portland had already reeled off nine straight points when Sacramento called timeout in an effort to stem the bleeding, but Wallace stole the subsequent inbounds pass for an easy fast-break layup. On the next trip, Wallace stripped the ball from DeMarcus Cousins and broke away for another uncontested lay-in. After the Kings finally scored, Wallace shifted gears and spotted up in the corner for a rare 3-pointer; he then swatted a Tyreke Evans layup at the other end to key a Portland transition that led to a Crawford 3. At that point, the game was effectively over.

Wallace had missed the previous game with a finger injury and was questionable to appear in this one, but he finished with 20 points on just 12 shots and added eight boards. It was the extra juice Portland needed, energy that was badly missing in a depressing defeat in Detroit two days earlier.

Not that this cures all. Despite the score, the Blazers weren't terribly happy with their performance, especially early; they still must ramp up their level considerably to beat opponents who run back on defense and pass the ball to each other. Tuesday's game against Memphis, winners of seven straight, provides just that opportunity. For now, they'll take solace in the temporary salve their visitors from River City provided.

3. Daily Dime Live Rewind

Relive and note all the chatter, memes and Photoshops of Monday's Daily Dime Live.

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4. Extreme Behavior

By Andrew AyresESPN.com

MONDAY'S BEST

The comeback Griz: The streak looked dead. Down by 20 at one point, Memphis unleashed a 39-point fourth quarter, sparking a 91-90 road win over Golden State that kept the Griz win streak alive and kicking at eight games.

MONDAY'S WORST

Tragic offense: The Magic set a franchise-low mark with 56 points in a loss in Boston. Orlando's previous season low was 78 points. The franchise low was 57, set Dec. 4, 1996 against Cleveland. Ryan Anderson, averaging 17.5 ppg, was totally inoffensive, missing all eight field goal attempts in a scoreless outing.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

"If someone steps on it, it's going to hurt. You never know. It might go the whole year and nobody touches it."

5. I Swatted Yao, I Can Beat You

Warriors guard Nate Robinson, who stands 5-foot-9, soared to challenge 7-foot-1 Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies during a jump ball. But the big man won this round, and his team earned a dramatic win.

6. NBA Video Channel

7. Original Matrix Now Showing

By Tim MacMahonESPN Dallas

Marion

DALLAS -- Shawn Marion has a simple, selfless explanation for his recent scoring spree that came with Dirk Nowitzki down and out.

"This is just about helping my teammates," Marion said.

Well, the last possession of the Dallas Mavericks' 93-87 win over the Phoenix Suns might be considered an exception. Marion jacked up a wild, off-the-dribble runner in what seemed like a desperate attempt to hit the 30-point milestone for the first time as a Maverick.

That shot didn't fall, so Marion settled for a 29-point performance that served as another strong reminder that he's still capable of filling it up like he did as a four-time All-Star in Phoenix when he's a focal point of the offense.

"He's playing the best out of anybody on this team right now," point guard Jason Kidd said. "He's been carrying us."

8. Rip Fits The Bulls

CHICAGO -- When Chicago Bulls GM Gar Forman signed Rip Hamilton just before the season started, it was a game like Monday night's 110-95 win over the New Jersey Nets that he envisioned in his head.

Playing without Luol Deng, Hamilton racked up a huge stat line, scoring 22 points, dishing out 10 assists and logging 42 minutes in the win, during which he recorded his 15,000th career point. While the numbers were certainly nice, it was his playmaking ability that caught his teammates' attention.

"He passes better than I do," Bulls point guard Derrick Rose said with a laugh. "So he's definitely going to help us."

9. Lowry's Triple-Double

By Elias Sports Bureau

Lowry

Kyle Lowry scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 10 assists for the Rockets to complement Kevin Martin's 31 points in their 107-92 win at Minnesota. Lowry's triple-double was the first for a Rockets player since the last time Houston faced the Timberwolves, when Goran Dragic had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to go along with Chase Budinger's 35 points in a 121-102 victory at Minnesota on April 13, 2011.